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A Light Touch

Before clinic hours begin, Dr. Richard Peavey can be found reviewing the day’s cases in the workspace he shares with other PCC physicians and nurses on duty. He’s wearing his traditional uniform: button down dress shirt, bolo necktie, and stethoscope draped around his shoulders. Ten patients are on his schedule.

“It’s going to be a busy day,” he says, picking up a metal clipboard before heading into the hallway.

Peavey understands busy. He began practicing medicine in 1977 and came to People’s in 1999 after spending two decades working in urgent care, general practice, and occupational and rehabilitation medicine. He saw it as “a chance to see the other side of care,” he says.

Peavey earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and since 2003, he has served as PCC’s director of adult medicine. Most of the patients he sees battle at least one chronic health condition such as diabetes or heart disease. For them, there is no easy fix, no Band-Aid solution, but rather, continual management of their illness.

However, even patients with the best intentions can wind up in the emergency room when familial or work demands trump obligations to monitor their own health. At PCC, a network of support exists to help patients stay on top of their disease. One of those institutional supports is Dr. Peavey. He makes sure he spends time building trust with his patients so that together they can prevent symptoms from spinning out of control.

“All humans deserve the same dignity,” Peavey says, “and part of that is being able to take care of their health.”

Peavey practices medicine with a light touch. When a diabetic patient confesses he’s lapsed in testing his blood sugar as often as she should, Peavey refrains from lecturing. He doesn’t try to guilt the man into action. Instead, he touches the man’s feet to test his circulation. He asks about the man’s family. Peavey listens to what’s really going on in his life. He explains how diabetes affects the blood vessels in the body, often constricting the vessels of the eyes and feet. Then Dr. Peavey focuses on the path forward. A nurse will start calling the patient daily for his numbers to get him back on track.

Fear is a lousy motivator for long-term behavior change, Peavey later explains in his office. There are myriad reasons people don’t follow through with treatments. Never assume anything about a patient’s motivations or the obstacles that they may face.

“I try to encourage people with the prospect of living longer,” he says. “The most important thing with patient care is empathy. That’s not sympathy—it’s just walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. And don’t judge.”

In between patient consultations, Peavey and a volunteer hematologist discuss a mysterious case she hasn’t yet solved. A nurse pops in with a question. A PCC employee shadowing him for the day asks a few more.

“There’s an art and science to practicing medicine,” Peavey explains. “As a young doctor I focused more on the science. Now, perhaps more on the art.”

The art he displays during every patient encounter that day. He isn’t sure how one visit will go. The patient recently won a battle with cancer, but the last few months haven’t been easy. She has chronic pain. Peavey gently knocks on an exam room door before entering. The elderly patient perched on the table gives him an update.

“I’m trying to stay upbeat,” she tells him, her voice wavering. “There’s just a lot of stuff piling up on me.”

Dr. Peavey places his hands on her shoulders. She takes a deep breath and visibly relaxes. She smiles into her tissue.

“I respect what you’re going through,” he says. “It’s good to see you smile.”

-KM